Posted on 06/12/2018 11:40:41 AM PDT by Gamecock
The Minnesota Conference of the United Methodist Church has removed the term, ‘Father,’ from the Apostle’s Creed in an attempt to be more gender inclusive to God.
The ancient creed of the Christian Church reads:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead.
However, United Methodists in the Minnesota Conference decided that referring to God as “Father” wasn’t inclusive enough for the 21st century United Methodist Church. At the conference, held May 30 through June 1, conference organizers omitted reference to God the Father. Instead, they changed the phrase “God the Father Almighty” to “God the Creator Almighty.” The creed passed out to attendees also removed the phrase, “Jesus Christ, His only Son” to “Jesus Christ, God’s only Son.”
One attendee, Keith Mcilwain, posted a screenshot of their newly revised creed via social media:
McIlwain is currently the pastor of Slippery Rock United Methodist Church in Pennsylvania. Mcilwain said, “No United Methodist individual or body has the authority to edit those creeds which were formulated by the early Church and have helped define orthodox Christianity for the better part of 2000 years.”
The United Methodist Church has repeatedly become more egalitarian in the early twenty-first and latter twentieth century, beginning with the ordaining of female clergy with full ordination rights in 1956. The roots of the egalitarian movement among Methodists began, however, with the 18th century female preacher, Mary Bosanquet Fletcher, convincing John Wesley that some women should be given limited preaching abilities. In most recent days, the United Methodist Church has been drained of male clergy, with more than 10,300 female clergy members nationwide.
A United Methodist Church website provides a blog explaining the concept behind removing the “Father” understanding of God (taught by Jesus and the rest of Scripture). In the following quotiation, their use of the term, “God language,” means language used by people to refer to God:
Leaders need to establish the ground rules: Everybody’s God language is appropriate. People’s God language signifies a relationship that you can’t interfere with. You can raise questions and offer additional perspectives, but you can’t dictate. You can’t prohibit anybody from using any language about God. Whether they want to call God “Jehovah” or “Big Dog,” you can’t judge the validity of how that name connects them with God. People just need to get used to that.
Pastors and other leaders should give attention to teaching people what the church’s traditional images mean and what they don’t mean. For instance, the “fatherhood” of God is about relationship, not biology. Our people won’t know how to reflect theologically about these things — instead of just reacting emotionally — unless we give them the tools.
Pastors and other worship leaders should expose people to a variety of images of God, both familiar and new, both comforting and provocative. People should regularly hear God referred to in public worship with images that are male, female, and gender neutral. In a worship service the choir may sing an anthem with thickly sexist, male-dominated language, while the prayers are full of feminine imagery. People can sing their own words, with their personal substitutions, if they wish. People should be encouraged to take responsibility for their own faith.
In the meantime, Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father, who art in Heaven…”
Jesus used the term father - are they going to edit him too?
What nonsense!
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
These people do not know that God does not have a gender. He is a spirit.
Bingo! Who are we to judge?
Anyone know of good options or alternatives o UMC??
-especially if Presby is not, Lutheran is not, Episs is not, catholic?? where is there to turn?
Lennie also believed in having sex with more than one gender.
Reading and knowing the Bible simply weren't cultural traditions within American Methodism. Without understanding the Bible, people don't have the Whole Armor of God with which to fight. When I started studying the Bible on my own in my 40s, it gradually unraveled my cradle-Methodist "identity" until I finally had had enough of the heretical virtue-signalling and started seeking a Bible-believing church. So far, the LCMS is holding steady.
Not all Presbyterians are liberal. Look for PCA, OPC, or RPCNA, to name a few.
Maybe a tornado will hit the building, like one did at a certain ELCA conference.
The Creation was Created by God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. It was created by the Trinity.
Which is why in Genesis Chapter 1, God spoke in the first person plural.
The Bible-believing branch of Lutheranism is the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS),. Salvation is "by grace alone, though faith alone and scripture alone." LCMS does not permit women pastors, although women can be elders and teachers, and does not believe in birth control, abortion or sex outside of marriage — and marriage is between one man and one woman. It is in the Apostolic faith tradition — God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Technology changes, but the Word of God doesn't change with the times.
Have a look around the web site: Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, and see if there is a congregation near you: Locator: LCMS Churches and Schools
Free Methodist (Winona Lake, as opposed to UMC)
Presbyterian Church of America (as opposed to PCUSA)
Orthodox Presbyterian Church (as opposed to PCUSA)
Anglican churches associated with an African diocese (very conservative, and as opposed to ECUSA)
Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Church (as opposed to ELCA).
Southern Baptist Church (be discerning on the individual churches)
maybe Independent Fundamentalist Baptists (watch for legalism)
Church of Christ (again, watch for some legalistic congregations, BTW, NOT United Church of Christ, which became dead liberal where Jonathan Edwards (Sinners at the Hands of an Angry God) would weep).
United Pentecostal Church (not Assemblies of God) denies the Trinity.
Eh. Not a big deal. The UMC has been apostate for years. What non-Christians do is not a big issue with me one way or another.
A scholar like CSL understood the difference between male/female and masculine/feminine. Read That Hideous Strength.
Πιστεύομεν εἰς ἕνα Θεὸν Πατέρα παντοκράτορα.
That next to the last word translates as "Father."
Nobody has the right to change what is the common heritage of most Christians in order to suit their sensibilities or agenda. Using "Father" to refer to God is biblical, and has theological significance.
so now it's, Our God the Creator Almighty who are in heaven, too?
There’s madness in their Method
Geographic regions are run by their own bishop. There is no one at a higher level to correct him until the 4 year general conference in 2020.
However, this is more evidence of terminal illness and why I have left. I no longer see hope for the denomination.
About one second after each of them dies, thousands upon thousands of Methodists are going to be very surprised at their eternal destination. It’s going to be the opposite of their expectation.
Please tell me where this idea ever came from.
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